"I can't do anything for Jake." "That's a shocking thing to say." "Do you think I enjoy saying it? For God's sake, don't you be angry with me too. I tell you, I've got my own problems to handle." Gabby watched Cooper while he prowled around the room as if pursued by demons. Finally she made up her mind to be frank. "I think I know what they are, Sam." "Do you?" He laughed without humor. "That's more than I can say for myself." "I wouldn't tell you if it wasn't necessary for Jordan's sake," Gabby said gravely. She came around a corner. "You don't want to be Jordan's friend. You want to be his wife." Cooper turned white. "You've been acting like a woman," Gabby blurted. "Jealous, possessive, hysterical. That's why you made such a fuss when he tried to protect you at the party. It was like a man protecting a woman. You enjoyed it so much you felt guilty." "You're kidding, of course." "No," Gabby said honestly. "I'm trying to help you so you'll help Jordan. It isn't wrong to be a homosexual, Sam. You mustn't feel ashamed. You have to face it. You haven't been able to face it and that's why you made so much trouble for Jordan." "Are you calling me a fag?" Gabby nodded. "You knew about the letters a week ago, and you did nothing. You let it come to a crisis when you could have stopped it. And I think I know why. You've been living on his strength and you feel guilty deep down inside because you know it's the way a woman lives on a man's strength." "This has gone just about far enough, Gabby! I think--" "You couldn't admit that to yourself," Gabby went on firmly. "But you had to do something to wipe out the guilt. So you let Jordan destroy his own strength. That's the way you're going to prove to yourself that you're not dependent on him ... that you don't love him like a woman ... that you're as much of a man as he is." "This is insane!" Cooper shouted. "You keep house for him. You wait on him. You watch over him like a ... like a jealous woman. Because deep down inside you want to go to bed with him. That's why you resent me. Isn't it the truth?" "No." "And that's what makes you dangerous," Gabby said. "If you could see the truth, you wouldn't be helping Jordan destroy himself." "I told you!" Cooper cried, shaking so hard he could barely speak. "I told you! I had problems of my own. I--" "They're just your excuse for standing by and watching him fall." Gabby leaned forward intensely. "I can't let you do that, Sam. It isn't fair to yourself and it isn't fair to Jordan. You'll be horribly ashamed of yourself. We've got to come to an understanding and work together." "Understanding!" "Yes. He wants you for a friend. I promised him I'd keep you friends.... And I'm going to keep that promise," Gabby added grimly. "But not until you understand that you're going to be his friend, not his wife." There was an agonizing pause. The phone rang. Cooper looked around in bewilderment, then jumped up and took the call.